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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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Rick, a guard in Valendia, felt a chill from the young man walking toward him.
‘Has he been hunting bandits again?’
When he first saw him, he had simply thought of him as a country boy, cocky from having defeated a mere goblin.
He had just thought of him as an optimistic youth who believed he could get into the academy just by catching a goblin.
But that thought was completely overturned not long after.
The young man would regularly leave the town and return only in the evening.
He always had a bright look on his face when he returned, so Rick had just assumed the clueless country boy was happy about catching another goblin.
Then one day, Rick heard a rumor.
That someone had appeared who relentlessly hunted only bandits every day.
That the number of bandits already hunted exceeded twenty.
Bandits used the mountains as their base, ambushing people to steal their valuables and take their lives.
Such individuals couldn’t be left alone, so the Adventurer’s Guild had posted a request for bandit subjugation.
However, very few adventurers took on the bandit subjugation request.
Because the risk was high.
Bandits were, in a manner of speaking, a faction.
Even if one had the skill to deal with bandits, the risk of retaliation after taking them out was high.
This was because the bandits had their own information network and could find out who had been eliminating them.
Furthermore, the bandits in this area…
There were even rumors that Belken of the Belken Gang possessed martial power on par with an elite knight.
An ordinary adventurer would not actively seek to take on such a task.
In fact, if one had the power to easily deal with bandits, it was more profitable to handle other monsters.
That was why people were curious about the one who so persistently hunted only bandits.
Why did he insist only on bandits?
Did he not value his life?
Was he that confident, or… did he have a story behind it?
The tavern he visited after his shift was always abuzz with stories of the ‘Bandit Hunter’ who hunted bandits.
And when talk of the Bandit Hunter’s appearance came up, Rick couldn’t believe it.
A young man with a ponytail and slightly parted bangs on the left, who used a single spear as his main weapon.
As far as Rick, who saw people passing through the gate every day as part of his job, knew, there was only one person with those features.
‘Could it be that young man? No, but…’
The day after hearing the rumor, Rick called out to the young man as he was passing through the gate.
“Hey.”
“Yes?”
“Are you… going to hunt goblins again?”
“No.”
The young man answered nonchalantly.
“Bandits.”
“Bandits? Have you been hunting bandits this whole time?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Rick realized the rumor was true.
‘It really is this young man….’
“Is something wrong?”
“No, it’s just… ahem. Why do you hunt bandits like that? Wouldn’t it be better to hunt monsters instead?”
Rick indirectly advised him that hunting monsters was better than the dangerous task of hunting bandits.
But the young man just smiled at Rick and said nonchalantly.
“No, I like this more.”
The young man who said he preferred hunting bandits over hunting monsters.
Furthermore, Rick felt a chill at the young man’s words, which implied he preferred killing humans over monsters.
At the same time, Rick thought about what could have made the young man that way and came to a single conclusion.
The young man he had thought was just an overconfident country boy, but in reality…
‘Were his parents murdered by bandits?’
It wasn’t a rare occurrence.
People didn’t always enter the mountains.
When supplies ran low, bandits would raid nearby villages, stealing goods and taking lives.
And in the process, children were sometimes orphaned.
Rick thought the young man was one of those people.
That was why he preferred killing bandits to killing monsters.
That was why he could say such a thing so casually.
‘This isn’t something I can interfere with.’
A person who didn’t know the suffering of another had no right to carelessly meddle with someone who had vowed revenge.
And so, Rick said to the young man.
“…Be careful out there.”
“…? Thank you.”
Watching the young man’s back as he set off to hunt bandits again, Rick prayed to the goddess.
‘Please let that young man be able to safely break free from his revenge.’
Having obtained the item I wanted, I returned to Valendia in a cheerful mood.
“You’re back, Ishihan.”
“Yes, Mr. Rick.”
As I returned, the guard, Mr. Rick, greeted me.
Mr. Rick, with whom I had recently built a relationship to the point of exchanging names.
He was the same guard who had sneered at me at first.
But recently, he would tell me to be careful or that he respected my choice.
I figured his opinion of me must have changed.
‘From the perspective of a guard like Mr. Rick, I, who hunts bandits, must be a welcome sight.’
Walking through the city, I could better understand what kind of existence bandits were in this world.
Beings who would even raid villages when supplies were low.
Since I was taking care of such troublesome fellows, it was only natural that his impression of me changed.
‘Come to think of it, he did ask me at first why I didn’t hunt monsters.’
At the time, I had honestly told him that bandits were more profitable, so I preferred them.
‘I guess I made a good impression on him back then.’
Because ever since that day, he would strike up a conversation with me whenever I passed through the gate.
“You look happy today. Did something good happen?”
“Yes, I found what I was looking for.”
“What you were looking for?”
“A bandit had it… I’ve been looking for it for a while.”
“…I see.”
Suddenly, Mr. Rick’s expression darkened.
What’s wrong with him?
“Was it a precious item?”
It was precious, if you could call it that.
It was an important item that would be very helpful in my future activities.
Well, there was no reason to explain it to Mr. Rick since he wouldn’t understand anyway, so I just nodded and answered briefly.
“Yes. Thanks to it, I can now move forward.”
“Ah, so that’s what it was… I’m glad for you, Ishihan.”
Mr. Rick placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Yes, move forward. And… don’t insist on hunting bandits anymore.”
“Ah, yes.”
If things worked out, I wouldn’t have to hunt bandits anymore to earn more money, so there was no need to insist on it.
But why was he suddenly telling me not to insist on hunting bandits?
‘Well, it’s probably nothing to worry about.’
“Then, I’ll be on my way.”
“Alright. With the way you are now, I’m sure… you’ll do well at the academy too.”
“Yes, thank you.”
To think he was cheering me on for the academy without a shred of doubt.
It seemed I had made a better impression on Mr. Rick than I thought.
I parted ways with Mr. Rick and went straight to the Adventurer’s Guild reception desk.
In Lucadia Fantasm, the guild reception desk was no different from an employment agency.
It was very convenient to be able to handle reports through Deishee right away without having to go inside a building.
In the game, it was designed for you to talk to her right after clearing daily quests.
According to Deishee, if you wanted to consult about a quest or get detailed information about monsters, you could go into the building connected to the reception desk.
You could get a consultation from a counselor at the Adventurer’s Guild headquarters or find information in the data room.
‘Though I, who already knows all the monster information, don’t really need any monster information.’
I wasn’t a veteran who had played Lu-Fan for over 10 years for nothing, you know.
“M-Mr. Ishihan, this is…!”
Deishee’s eyes widened when she saw the bandit captain’s bandana I took out.
“Did you defeat a bandit captain?”
“Yes.”
“That’s amazing.”
Her voice was filled with pure admiration.
‘I guess it makes sense.’
When we first met, I was just in plain villager clothes with only a spear.
Now, at least, I had some standard equipment.
I had also switched from a common spear to a slightly better one and had prepared a full set of sturdy leather gear worn by common adventurers.
Objectively speaking, I was a proper adventurer.
But Deishee knew me when I was in villager clothes.
It must have been surprising that the man who had brought her goblin magic stones had hunted a bandit captain in just two weeks.
Even in the game, a bandit captain was an enemy you fought at a higher level than goblins.
After finishing the transaction, Deishee spoke cautiously.
“Um… Mr. Ishihan? I know you’re strong enough to take down a bandit captain. Still, I’d recommend you refrain from hunting bandits for a while. There’s a high possibility that the bandits will target you for retaliation.”
It was a warning to be careful, as I had become a person of interest to the bandits now that I had even taken down a captain.
‘Ah, so this is why Mr. Rick told me not to insist on it.’
In the first place, the reason I had been hunting them continuously for two weeks was in the hopes that I might find the item I wanted.
I had already secured enough money to stay comfortably in Valendia until it was time to go to the academy.
“Understood. I was planning to stop hunting bandits as of today anyway.”
“Is that so? That’s a relief. Mr. Ishihan, may a radiant light shine upon you!”
As usual, I finished my business at the guild and sold the farmed equipment at the blacksmith.
I returned to the inn, entered my room, and opened my inventory to look at the item I had acquired today.
“Heh, heheh.”
A smile naturally formed on my face as I looked at the item, which was no exaggeration to call a great find.
“This… is going to be my cash cow.”
The item I had wanted so badly.
An amulet engraved with the crest of a sitting cat, with blue jewels embedded where the cat’s eyes should be.
Item Name: Shasha’s Treasure
The key item that would connect me to my source of money.
I put the amulet around my neck, left the inn, and wandered the streets.
Now, it was time to go fishing.
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